Player-piano.



J. H. BECK & G. BEDFORD.

PLAYER PIANO.

APPLKCATION FILED FEB-17,1915- RENEWED JAN.30.l9\'71 Patented May 22,1917.

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1. H. BECK 8: G. BEDFORD.

PLAYER PIANO.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 17. 1915. RENEWED JAN. 30, 19-17.

Patented May 22, 1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH H. BECK AND GEORGE BEIDFORD, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

PLAYER-PIANO.

To all to Zoom it may concern:

Be it known that we, Josnrrr H. BECK and Gnonen Bnnrono, citizens of theUnited States, residing at Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State ofNew York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inPlayer-Pianos, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to manually actuated mechanism for operating thesliding lower panel or door of a player-piano casing and extending thepedals forwardly through the same, also for withdrawing the pedals andclosing the door. Its object is to insure the perfect performance ofthese operations in due order by simple means and without strain. Thisobject is attained by the construction and combination of partshereinafter more particularly set forth and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 represents a rear elevation of the mechanism embodying ourinvention, with the door open;

Fig. 2, a similar view with the door down or closed;

Fig. 3, the same taken in the position after the pedals have beenwithdrawn within the casing, but before the door has begun to descend; a

Fig. 4, a section through the upper part of the casing beside theoperating shaft looking to the left on the line ll of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5, a detail front elevation of the handle and proximate part of thecasing showing said handle in full lines in the position which itoccupies in accordance with Fig. 1., and in dotted lines in thepositions corresponding to Figs. 2 and 3.

A designates the casing, B the pedals and C the door or sliding lowerpanel of a player piano. The said pedals are mounted V on a pedal bar 6,carried by two supporting bars D D, which are pivoted within said casing1n bearing blocks F F and bent to avoid the proximate lower part of thecasing in their forward and downward movement. The bar Dhas a retardlngspring E of torsion type attached to it and provided with rubber cushionas in our appli cation Serial No. 854,47 9. Said arm or bar D has anintegral lateral arm (Z that car ries a bifurcated removable arm G,between which and bearing block F a spacing sleeve 9 is located onlateral arm (Z. A long operating bar H is pivoted at it lower end he-Specification of Letters Patent.

Serial No. 145,569.

tween the bifurcations of the upper end of arm Gr and at its upperend tothe terminal cranked arm 2' of the operating rock-shaft I, which extendshorizontally forward through said casing A, being mounted in suitablebearings and provided with a handle in front of the casing; by means ofwhich handle the said pedals are turned at will down and out through theopening of the door or panelC or backward and upward through saidopening to a position within said casing.

Said shaft I, at the pointof junction of said integral arm 6 therewith,is provided with a door operating arm J fast on said shaft to turntherewith. This arm is provided with a hook or bent extension which maybe in a separate piece rigidly bolted thereto. as shown. T hishook isarranged to engage in an open end slot 1 1: between the bifurcations ofthe nearer arm of a large bellcrank lever K, preferably of three plymaple wood, which is more durable than a wooden block in one piece, saidlever K being pivoted at its angle to the casing A. The lower end of theother arm of said bellcrank lever K is provided with a roller m arrangedto bear on the proximate and shorter arm of a lever L, which is theimmediate means of raising the door suspended by a long link M from theend of the longer arm of lever L. A helical spring N, connected at-itsupper end to said casing A and at its lower end to the longer arm oflever L near the pivot P of the latter, assists in some degree thelifting of said door and retards its descent as hereinafter described.The upper surface of the short arm of lever L is provided with a raisedincline having a concave face Z, up which the said roller travels in thelast stage of its lifting action on said lever, this constructioninsuring an even and final action in said movement and preventing anupward kick by the short arm of the lever L when theroller m reaches itslowest position, by reason of the space that otherwise would be leftbetween said roller and said short arm.

The arrangement of the aforesaid parts is such that when the shaft I isrocked to withdraw the pedals into the casing the action on the pedalsbegins at once, and the arm J and. hook of said shaft travel a shortdistance before entering slot 76. The action of said hook on thebell-crank lever K then proceeds and the roller m runs down Patented May22, 1917.

Application filed February 17., 1915, Serial 11:0. 8,800. RenewedJanuary 30, 1 91.7.

the incline Z and along the shorter arm of the lever L at first freelyand without effect for reasons hereinafter stated, but afterwardbalancing said door until said roller passes a certain point of thelatter lever and a certain position with relation to the pivot P of thelatter, whereupon its counterbalancing effect is removed and the doorthereupon falls and closes. As the roller reaches this point the pedalsare held upright just within the casing, so as not to impede the descentof the door. The handle is then in its upper dotted line position. Theopen-door position of lever L is up \vardly inclined, the closed-doorposition downwardly inclined, hence the roller 'm, as said lever passesfrom the former position to the latter, soon ceases to have any effectin accelerating its descent. This roller m never passes along lever L sofar as said pivot. The precise determining point of its change of actionfrom counterbalancing to depression, as above explained, will depend onthe pivotal point of the bell-crank lever K and the length, inclinationand form of the arm of said lever carrying said roller m. The higherdotted line position of the handle I in Fig. 5 is that which it occupieswhen the door is quite closed and the pedals are in their rearwardposition within the casing.

During the first stage of the above move ment While the hook j has notyet entered the slot it is obvious that the shaft I is spared all strainfrom the weight of the door and intervening parts and that there is nowear or strain on hook j, levers K or L or the pivots of these lattertwo parts.

hen the roller m is in its lowest position (Fig. 1) its position withrelation to the pivotal point of said bell crank lever, to which thelower arm of the latter connects it, is nearly vertical and will lockthe long arm of said lever and the said door against accidental descent.The open-end construction of slot 70 leaves bell-crank lver K withoutattachment to the shaft 1, though the arm J of said shaft is inintermittent free sliding contact with the walls of said slot asdescribed. This freedom of said bellcrank lever makes all the operativeparts between arm J and the door independent of said shaft at will. Thisis especially im portant if the guideways and proximate parts of thewood-work below said shaft and its bearings be made as a frame or panelremovable with the door from the casing, as we have sometimes done; butwhether this construction of the woodwork be adopted or not, there aremanifest advantages in the ready separability of said bellcrank leverand said arm carried by ti o shaft. Repairs, cleaning and other operations will be facilitated and the shaft is made independent for suchpurposes besides being automatically freed from strain and. weightduring a part of its movement as already stated. This relief could notoccur if the point of separability were not in close proximity to saidshaft.

By turning the handle of shaft 1 in the opposite direction, thusreversing the order of its three positions, the door of course is firstlifted by the action of shaft 1, arm J. hook 7', slotted bell-crank K,lever L and link M. The continued turning of the handle and shaft Icauses the roller to travel back along the short arm of lever l1 and upthe inclined concaved face Z without further effect on said lever orsaid door, though continually in contact with said lever, because of thecalculated relation of the line of travel of said roller and theinclination of said short arm in the fully open position and thecurvature and inclination of said concave face. As the roller passes upsaid curved incline reaching the end of its rearward play, the hook jpasses out of the slot 7.: and ceases to exert any pressure on theslotted arm. of said lever K. The final part of the moven'lent of shaft1, in returning to their original position first above described andindicated by full lines, will move quite freely so far as the dooroperating devices are concerned. meantime the treadles are carriedforward and downward by the action of said shaft I and handle, arm 2',long rod or bar l-I, arm Cr and supporting bar D, the final part of thismovement lowering the treadles to operative exterior position, beingaided in this by the action of the torsion spring above mentioned.

Two fixed stop pins Q and it attached to the rear face of the front ofeasing A arranged for contact respectively with each of the two arms ofbell-crank lever K, so that said lever cannot turn too far on its pivotin either direction and said arms will be always in the right positionand arrange ment to operate. The upper pin Q, by stopping the slottedarm of said lever from descent after the hook 7' has escaped from theslot 7'1, and thus disengaged lever K, will keep the roller m on theother arm of said hell-crank lever in contact with the short arm oflever L and thus prevent the door from dropping behind the pedals so asto obstruct their withdrawal as they are raised and drawn over into thecasing as already described.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1. In combination with pedals and a shaft and connections for extendingand withdrawing said pedals, a door arranged to open before suchextension and close after such withdrawal, a part carried by said shaft,means attached to and moving with In the are r said door to operate thesame and a movable device provided with an open ended slot for separableengagement with the part carried by said shaft, said device beinginterposed between the latter and said means to actuate the latter.

2. In combination with pedals and a rockshaft and connections forextending said pedals into operative position and withdrawing themtherefrom, a sliding automatically closing door, a hook carried by saidshaft, a lever for opening said door and pivotally mounted meansinterposed between said hook and lever and provided with an open endedslot for separable engagement with said hook to transmit motiontherefrom to said lever during a part of the movement of the former.

3. In combination with pedals and a reels shaft and connections forextending said pedals into operative position and witlnlrawthemtherefrom, a sliding automatically closing door, a hook connected tosaid shaft, a lever for opening said door, and a bellcrank lever bearingwith one arm on said lever and having its other arm bifurcated toslidably and separably receive said hook which moves from thebifurcations of said arm when the door is in its -aised position, todisconnect the pedal operating mechanism from the door operatingmechanism.

a. A rock-shaft, pedals, connections for extending and withdrawing saidpedals and an automatically closing door, in combination with abell-crank lever having a bifurcated arm, a part carried by said shaftengaging said arm between the bifurcations thereof, a lever acted on bythe other arm of said bell-crank lever to open said door, said partdisengaging with the bifurcated arm when the door has been completelyopened, and stops limiting the movement of said bellcrank lever ineither direction.

5. In combination with pedals and means for extending and withdrawingthem, a sliding door arranged to open before such extension and closeafter such withdrawal, a lever connected to and moving with said door, amovable part actuated by said means and bearing on one arm of said leverby traveling contact and arranged to free said lever on reaching acertain point thereof, said lever being provided with an inclinedconcave face continuous with the remainder of the top or upper face ofthis lever up which said part will travel in moving towardthe end ofsaid arm of said lever, for the purpose of preserving continuous contact between said parts and preventing jar and the reverse movement ofthe door.

6. In combination with pedals and means for extending and withdrawingthem, a sliding door arranged to open before such extension and closeafter such withdrawal, a

lever connected to and moving with said door, a movable part acting onsaid lever and normally actuated by said means but freely separable fromsaid shaft at a point in proximity thereto and automatically detachedtherefrom at the beginning of the pedahwithdrawing movement and a stop Iarranged for contact with said part to prevent the closing of the doorwhen thus freed from said operating means.

7. In combination with pedals and a shaft and intervening connectionsfor extending and withdrawing said pedals, a vertically movable doorarranged to open before such extension and close after such withdrawal,a lever suspending said door, adapted to raise the same and provided atthe rear end of its actuated arm with a raised inclined concave face anda part operated by said shaft and having a traveling contact with saidarm of the lever and said concave face.

8. In combination with pedals and a shaft and intervening connectionsfor extending and withdrawing said pedals, a vertically movable doorarranged to open before such extension and close after such withdrawal,a lever for suspending and raising said door, a spring connected to saidlever for retarding the descent of said door and expediting its ascent,a bell-crank lever carrying a roller which acts on the former lever andhaving a bifurcated arm and a part carried by said shaft and engagingthe bifurcations of said bell-crank lever, but arranged to be freetherefrom during the first part of the pedal withdrawing movement.

9. Pedal extending and withdrawing mechanism and door operatingmechanism, in combination with an actuating shaft and connectionstherefrom to each of'said mechanisms, the door-operating mechanismcomprising a lever for suspending and lifting the door, said lever beingprovided on its shorter arm with a raised inclined face continuous withthe remainder of the upper face of said lever and a movable partcontinuously in contact with said lever, and traveling freely thereonfrom said inclined face to the proximity of the pivotal point of saidlever and back again acting thereon to lift said door during a part onlyof its movement in one direction and to free said lever and door fordescent only at the final point of its movement in the other direction.

10. In combination with a vertically movable door of a piano-casingopening and closing to permit the protrusion and withdrawal andprotection of the pedals, a lever suspending said door from its long armand provided on the top of its short arm with a concave face inclinedupwardly away from its pivot, but continuous with the remainder of thetop of said lever, an actuating shaft and a bell-crank. lever arrangedbetween said shaft and the said suspending lever, actuated by said shaftand bearing with traveling Contact on the said suspending names to thisspecification in the presence of ]ever from sand lnehned face to thepivot two subscribing wltnesses. of the latter, sand part whllestationary loek- JOSEPH H BECK i11 the door in its hi 'hest position but5 eaiising its descent wher i its point of eon: GEORGE BEDFORD' tactapproximately reaches the pivot of said WVitnesses: suspending lever.JOSEPH KoEenLER,

In testimony whereof, We have signed our PETER BECK.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G.

